Memories of You
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: Blood slips from his fingers as he struggles for breath. He rails against death; and the woman who holds his hand in his defeat. She speaks softly to him and he smiles at her false words. How did it happen? It's over...isn't it? AizenxUnohana. CRACK!


Confusion filled the minds of everyone.

"Eh?" Kurosaki Ichigo lowered his blade.

Shinji blinked slowly, unsure of what to say.

Everyone else was rendered speechless.

The Winter War was officially temporarily put on hold.

The espada lay defeated. Tousen, blown apart, his blood scattered across the street below. Mugurama Kensei, standing over the prone form of Wonderweiss Magera. Only Aizen and Ichimaru remained, standing against the whole of the vizards and shinigami.

During the height of the battle, Gin Ichimaru had been its ultimate victor. Suddenly, and without warning, the ever grinning traitor had struck Aizen down from _behind_, the pale blade of Shinsou neatly impaling the ex-captain, its reflection, revealing his dismayed, grief stricken expression.

Now, the former captain of the fifth division, leader of the arrancar, the man who had nearly killed Hinamori, was rendered powerless. He could only stare helplessly at the slender blade protruding from his upper chest. He could only wonder. Why? What had gone wrong? What had he forgotten? What had happened? Why was his strength leaving him....

"Ichimaru...what...have you done...

"Sumimasen, Aizen-_taichou." _The man who had once been his subordinate, his voiced oozed with false sincerity as the zanpaktou shrank back to its original size of a wazikashi and returned to him. "I'll be taking care of things from here on out. Hope ya don't mind?"

Aizen said nothing more as his bankai vanished and Kyouka Suigetsu slipped from his fingertips. He tried to speak, but instead, vomitted blood, the flecks of which contrasted sharply against his suddenly pale skin. Weakly, he reached up to finger the wound his hand trembling as it came away soaked in red. He attempted to turn around, but at that moment, it all gave out and he knew trying to do so was useless.

Without any reaitsu to support him, he fell towards the ruined city that lay below. It was a slow graceful descent, as though, even in death, he kept up the appearance that this was all just a part of the greater scheme.

"Ichimaru!" Hitsugaya roared, the wings of his bankai now carrying him towards the fox-faced captain at an astonishing speed. Gin didn't even so much as glance towards Toshirou, vanishing away in a flicker of shunpou before the younger captain's blade could ever hope to reach him. Before any other action could be taken against this unexpected development, several cracks appeared in the sky, then the Negacion shot down from the heavens, capturing Ichimaru and the remaining espada.

"Bye bye, Toshirou-kun." The ascending shinigami waved cheerily, as if he were actually _amused _by the chaos his sudden appearance had wrought upon everyone. "I'll be seeing ya'll around, mmkay?"

In the chaos, Sosuke Aizen had clung to that last thread of life. When they had found him, he blinked up at his enemies with an oddly peaceful, quiet, calm stare, meeting in turn the heated glares of the vizard and shinigami alike.

"It would appear...that I've suffered an injury." He gasped as Unohana knelt down before him. His eyes widened slightly as a soft green flow began to emanate from her fingertips. He was being healed. Why? Why would you heal an enemy?

"Healing me....won't grant you any sympathy, Unohana."

Her hard blue eyes stared back at him. Oddly enough, they didn't contain a hint of malice. Instead, was that...pity he saw, lingering there in the sapphire pools that were her eyes. Was that....a tear, just now, rolling down her cheek?

He wanted to wipe it away, but his body wouldn't allow it.

"I do not pity you, Aizen Sosuke." He began to grow faint, but he clung to her words. "I am healing you solely out of my duty as the leader of the fourth division." It was a lie, they both knew it, and only one of them, the one slowly bleeding to death on the ground, smiled.

Such a pitiable person.

"I see."

She mumbled something under her breath, but he couldn't make it out and unconciousness swiftly took him afterwards. He didn't resist it, he merely closed his eyes and breathed one last, final sigh, one whispered sentence.

"How ironic it is, that I die at your feet, Retsu."

--

_My name is Aizen Sosuke. _ This was his first thought as conciousness returned to him. A sense of confusion followed Weary, weak, and sleep addled, his mind struggled to grasp at the other faces. Nothing. He blinked. Something told him that he should not be alive, and yet, here he was, breathing, living, existing.

He couldn't remember why. He couldn't remember a lot of things, and suddenly, panic seized him. What had he forgotten? He couldn't remember that either, but it felt like his mind was missing a few pieces of the puzzle. A glass half empty, or half full? The thought occured to him, and he shook himself of it.

"So it seems you've come around, Aizen."

"What?"

Where was he? A sense of dread filled him, and a sharp light blinded him. He saw faces, all of which he knew, and the panic eased somewhat, only to deepen as he saw the looks of hatred engraved into them.

_They want to kill me. _

He blanched at the thought.

Why?

What had he done wrong?

Now, his torso wrapped in bandages, Sosuke Aizen picked himself up, stepped back from the bars, pained confusion contorting his features. His hand tightened reflexively about the handle of _Kyouka Suigetsu_, only for the fingers to uncurl slowly when he realized that his zanpkautou wasn't there. _Then_ he seemed to realize that he was actually behind bars.

"I'm sorry...but could someone explain what's going on here? Why am I locked up?"

"You know damn well why!" Hitsugaya seethed.

"Actually...I don't." Aizen replied with a blank expression. "I remember being in my office, writing in my journal then...nothing."

Toshirou made a choking noise.

"Impossible...

A series of gasps went up from the shinigami. Amnesia? Was this another ruse? And if it was, what on earth was Aizen trying to gain from it? They had good reason to doubt him. Ukitake was on life support. Kyoraku of course, refused to leave the side of his most cherished friend. Then there was the matter of Kenpachi currently licking his own wounds, and Kuchiki Byakuya locking himself inside his quarters once news of Abarai Renji's death had reached his ears.

Then there Unohana. When asked to see the prisoner, she refused, and retreated to her quarters as well

Hinamori finally broke the impasse, falling to her knees in open disbelief.

"A-Aizen-taichou...

"Oh," Aizen replied with a small smile, just now noticing his former lieutenant. "Hello, Hinamori-chan." Now, he frowned. Concern was a strange expression to be see, on the face of Aizen Sosuke. "You look pale. Have you been getting enough sleep?"

His reply had been a simple one. A greeting, expressed concern for one's subordinate, no more no less. But for some reason it seemed to set Hitsugaya off like nothing else. With a snarl, he stalked forward. Before any of the other captains' could stop him, the diminutive taichou had reached a hand through the bars. It found it's purchase on Aizen's collar, dragging him forward with a small gasp.

"What are you after this time, Aizen?! Is this another trick, another illusion?! An attempt to weaken our forces?! Answer me!"

"An illusion?" Aizen blinked, and would've tilted his head to the side, but Hitsugaya's grip prevented it. "I'm sorry Toshirou...I don't follow you. And just why are you so angry with me? Did I do something to upset you?"

"Aizen, why are you still projecting this elaborate ruse?" Soi fon, normally reserved and solemn in situations such as this, wore a perturbed expression, almost as if she were actually considering the possibility that Aizen had indeed, lost his memories.

"Ruse?" Aizen shook his head, but now, concern flashed across his features. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you're referring to, captain Soi fon, but now, I have a question. Did something happen? I've been in my study for the last hour, so I apologize for being out of the loop, but-

Now, he seemed to notice the absence of both Ichimaru and Kaname. Alarm flickered across his face, followed by genuine concern. Coupled with the worry in his voice, made for quite a convincing show, assuming that he was still trying to play the part of the fool.

"Are captain Ichimaru and Tousen alright? Is that the reason why I'm behind bars? "

"AIZEN!" Komamura, who had remained silent until now, roared aloud, startling everyone with the exception of Yamamoto. Roughly shoving Toshirou aside, the hulking captain smashed through the bars without so much as an afterthought, and hauled Sosuke to his feet. "Not another word! If you speak one more word about Tousen, I'll-

"So you've finally decided to show everyone your face, Komamura-kun?" A pleased smile began to appear. "Didn't I tell you that you'd be accepted, regardless of your appearance?"

Helpless to say anything, Komamura released Aizen and stepped back several paces. Those were the exact words Aizen had said to him two decades ago, during the time when he'd briefly considered forgoing the helmet, mostly out of frustration due to the rumors that had swirled about what lay behind it.

"Teme!" The door suddenly burst its way inward, startling the remaining lieutenant's and captain's alike. None other than Kurosaki Ichigo stepped through the opening, followed shortly after by Hirako Shinji.

"So," The leader of the masked army grinned, "How's it feel to be behind bars, Sosuke?"

Aizen immediately shook his head, a trace of anger leaking through his voice now. "Who are you? I've never seen the two of you before in my life, and yet you both seem to know me, and apparently, I'm not being told something. Will someone PLEASE explain what's going on here?"

Shinji guffawed, and Ichigo gaped.

"What the hell?"

This raised even _more_ questions amongst the captain's. Was this selective amnesia? Clearly, Aizen remembered all the captains, but at the same time, as he'd just demonstrated by his reaction to Kurosaki Ichigo and Hirako Shinji, his own captain at one time, he had absolutely _no_ recollection of anything else.

Before the meeting could collapse into further chaos, Mayuri Kurotsuchi chose that exact moment to make his appearance. Stepping over the ruined door, the scientist scoffed as he entered the room.

"If you're all done babbling, I have an announcement to make."

The madman grinned and jabbed one excessively long fingernail towards Aizen. "That man, has suffered complete and total memory loss, regarding his more recent and memorable activities."

"Meaning?" Hitsugaya glared at the demented scientist.

"Meaning, that due to the trauma he suffered from his near death experience, Sosuke Aizen has likely forgotten everything precurring, and including, the Winter War." Mayuri's reply made it sound as if it were the most logical and obvious event in the world. I suppose you could say, it it is as if he has a clean slate.

"NANI?!"

Apparently, everyone disagreed.

**Crack pairings are WIN! read and review!**


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